Transform your dinner routine with this incredible Instant Pot beef stew, which delivers all the rich, comforting flavors of traditional slow-cooked stew in just 60 minutes. This recipe creates perfectly tender beef and beautifully firm vegetables in a velvety, flavorful sauce that will remind you of your grandmother’s kitchen. The secret lies in a two-step cooking process that ensures your meat melts in your mouth while your vegetables maintain their texture and vibrant taste.
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Table of Contents
Why This Recipe Works
The magic of this Instant Pot beef stew lies in its two-stage cooking method. First, we pressure cook the meat with aromatics to achieve that fall-apart tenderness. Then, we add the vegetables for a shorter cooking time to maintain their structure and flavor. This technique, combined with browning the meat first and using chicken stock as our secret ingredient, creates a restaurant-quality stew at home.
Instant Pot Stew – Inspired by my Grandmother’s recipe
I wanted something to remind me of my Grandmother’s beef stew. She cooked plainly, letting food’s natural flavors come through. Her homemade beef stew was one of my favorite recipes, and the best thing about this recipe was when you enjoyed it the next day because it tasted even better.
This easy instant pot beef stew is made with beef, potatoes, onions, carrots, a little garlic powder, salt, tomato sauce, chicken broth, and smoked paprika. You really can make delicious stew in an electric pressure cooker.
Instapot beef stew ingredients
What one secret ingredient is in this recipe? Chicken stock. I use chicken stock as the stew base. I think the flavor of the chicken stock adds a richness and nice flavor profile that beef broth does not have.
People always ask, “did you just say chicken stock?”. Yes. If you prefer beef stock or beef broth, please use it. I urge you to try your beef stew with chicken stock just once.
- Beef chuck roast – Well-marbled cut that becomes incredibly tender and flavorful
- Vegetable oil – For browning the meat to develop deep flavors
- Kosher salt – Enhances all the natural flavors in the stew
- Chicken stock – The secret ingredient that adds richness and depth
- Tomato sauce – Provides body and subtle acidity to balance the richness
- Smoked paprika – Adds warmth and subtle smokiness
- Russet potatoes – Hold their shape well during pressure cooking
- Carrots – Add natural sweetness and beautiful color
- White onions – Provide an aromatic base and mild sweetness
- Garlic powder – This is a convenient way to add garlic flavor throughout
- Worcestershire sauce – Optional but adds umami depth and complexity
How to make beef stew in Instant Pot
It’s pretty easy to make delicious stew, you can make a beef stew that tastes like it cooked all day in your pressure cooker. I will walk you through the process.
- Cut your beef into bite-sized pieces. Small pieces of meat mean your stew tastes extra meaty, by increasing the surface area of the meat means more flavor comes through.
- Brown the meat first before pressure cooking it. The browning process will give your stew a depth of flavor.
- Using meat stock instead of water adds another layer of depth to the taste of your stew.
- Cooking the vegetables last results in the vegetables retaining all of their natural bold flavors. No one wants flavorless mushy vegetables.
Troubleshooting Tips
- Tough meat? Cook for an additional 5-8 minutes on high pressure.
- Too thin? Mix cornstarch with cold water and stir into hot stew to thicken.
- Are vegetables too soft? Reduce second cooking time to 5-6 minutes.
- Need more flavor? Add more salt, Worcestershire sauce, or a splash of red wine.
Storage & Reheating Instructions
- Freezing: Freezes excellently for up to 3 months in airtight containers. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
- Refrigerator Storage: Store in airtight containers for up to 4 days. Flavors actually improve overnight.
- Reheating Method: Reheat gently on stovetop over low to medium-low heat, stirring occasionally. Add splash of stock if needed to thin consistency.
Loved this recipe? Try my other Instant Pot recipes
- Easy Pulled Pork
- Pinto Beans in Instant Pot
- How to Make Instant Pot Mac and Cheese
- French Onion Rice Instant Pot
- Corned Beef Instant Pot
- Pressure Cooker Irish Stew
Best Hearty Soup Recipes
- Best Chicken Gnocchi Soup Recipe
- Copycat Zuppa Toscana Recipe
- Low Fat Vegetarian Black Bean Soup Panera
- White House Navy Bean Soup
- Chili Make With Tomato Juice
- Luby Green Chili Chicken Soup Recipe
- How to Make Crostini to Serve with Soup
Be sure to take a look at more of my easy soup recipes and Instant Pot meals.
Instant Pot Beef Stew with Tender Meat & Vegetables
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 pounds chuck roast cut into bite sized pieces
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 16 ounces chicken stock
- 16 ounces tomato sauce
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 2 pounds potatoes, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 8 ounces carrots, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 2 large onions, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
- Cut beef into bite-sized pieces. Season meat with salt. Brown bite-sized pieces of roast in the Instant Pot on saute in vegetable oil, you may need to do this in small batches.
- Once the meat has browned add tomato sauce and chicken stock. Cook the meat on the manual high setting for 30 minutes. Perform a quick release.
- Then add the garlic powder, smoked paprika, vegetables and cook on the manual setting for 4 minutes.
- When the stew finishes you can either perform a quick release or a manual release.
All the classic flavors and ingredients are in here, and it’s so fast in the Instant Pot!
wow, this is so good!
So hearty and comforting! I need a bowl of this!
Beef Stew weather is coming!
This is one of my favorite recipes to do in an instant pot!
Great recipe. But, this is what happened. I cooked the meat, sauce & stock & released pressure. Turned off IP. Added vegetables to IP. The IP had lots of sauce. Turned on pressure for 4 minutes and waited for pressure to build-I got a BURN message. Added more liquid & still got BURN message. Turned off, released the pressure that had built up. My vegetables were done & it never reached pressure again – all this in less than 5 minutes. Anyone know what happened here? I’m completely stumped. Similar thing happened when I prepared a Spanish rice recipe. I added all ingredients as per recipe, received BURN message, opened IP and my recipe was done! What??? It never reached pressure cook and all this happened within 5 minutes. Can anyone solve my puzzle? Thanks @cantstopcooking
I am not sure what happened here. I have never seen a BURN message before. This could be an overheating message for the Instant Pot. Since you have 32 ounces of liquid in the Instant Pot, there was enough liquid. Next time you do a similar cooking techiique of browning the meat in the instant pot, I would make sure when you add the liquid you take care to deglaze the pan by scraping up the browned bits on the bottom of the instant pot.
Now as far as the Pot not getting to pressure, I would remove the lid, and check your seal. Sometimes the silicone seal can be off my just a smidge and it will not. I have had to on more than one occasion, remove the lid, and adjust the seal.
I cannot saute in the pot, because every time I do, I get a burn message after I add liquid and close the cover. Even when I scrape up every little bit off the bottom of the pot before I close the lid. So I do all my saute on the stove, then dump it all in the pot – no more burn message. I’m wondering if some of the pots are defective, because I know a lot of folks who saute in the pot with no problems, but there you go.
I am really sorry this is happening to you. I personally have had three pots in the past 8 years. I gave one away to a friend, two are still perfectly operation. I have not had that problem with any of them. Have you tried discussing this problem with the folks at Instant Pot?
After looking at so many beef stews for the IPot, I tried this because it looked easy and had few ingredients. So good, and easy. Many compliments. It’s a keeper. Thank you.
Thank you.
I made it tonight and my family loved it. I love how simple it is. Thank you for sharing it with us.
I am glad you and your family enjoyed this recipe.
When I try adding the vegetables after the meat is cooked my instantpot doesn’t get up to pressure again. I don’t want to add more liquid. What am I doing wrong?
Thank you.
Yes mine took several minutes to come to pressure again after adding vegetables.
I think could have happened was when you removed the lid, the silicon ring slipped a tiny bit and wasn’t around that ring on the lid exactly right. When this happens to me, I remove the lid, and carefully look to see that the ring is in the right place. I adjust the ring, and put the lid back on.
Thank you for sharing this. My first IP meal and this was a hit!
Very good recipe! I’ve made it 6 times this winter and my family thinks it’s delicious! My fellow firefighters love it as well! I use already cut and packaged “beef for stew” and maybe cut some of it down if it’s not quite bite size. I use almost the 16 oz bag of baby carrots and don’t even mess with cutting them because they come out so perfectly tender! I also add a couple bay leaves with the 4 minute vegetable cook. I’m honestly not an organic freak, but for this I do use McCormick Organic Gourmet Smoked Paprika and Garlic Powder. I also use Organic Tomato Sauce, and Organic Chicken Stock. Either white or sweet onions work just fine! Thanks Stephanie this is the bomb!
Found this today and made it. Just fabulous!
Made this Beef Stew is so simple and our go to from now own. My grand children love it. We’ll be making this every week. Thanks for sharing.
This maybe a southern thing but it’s delicious. I don’t include the potatoes in the stew. Instead I cook them separately and make a buttery creamy mash. The stew is ladled over the mash in serving bowls. So good ????
This stew was amazing. So easy! Thanks for sharing this recipe. I’m new at the IP thing and really glad for this delicious dish.
My husband got me my pot for Christmas and I made this tonight! It turned out amazing! The meat was so tender and the veggies were perfectly cooked too! I only did one onion and still tasted great!
Would love to get recipes for this new pot
Could I used beef stew meat instead of the meat listed?
Yes Laura! I just made some with beef stew meat, and it came out amazing! I am not a big fan of beef stew, but wanted to try out the instant pot I got for Christmas, and the stew was so good! I added baby carrots cut in half at the same time as the onions and potatoes, and they came out perfect. Thank you Stephanie for posting this!
Stephanie! That recipe is spot on! I’m not a big fan when people take a recipe and substitute 80% of the listed ingredients, then “rate” the recipe. So, please don’t take my post as being that way Ü I DID have everything except fresh carrots. Stew, to me, is not a stew without carrots but I pressed on anyways with the recipe. It was outstanding! As I’m in the kitchen sampling the finished stew, I remember a fried rice recipe I have where you add a bag of frozen peas and carrots at the very end without cooking them! I threw my little bag of peas and carrots….stirred those frozen lil’ nuggets in and it was perfect! No mushy peas or carrots!
That recipe is going in my meal rotation for sure and I’m super anxious to try with fresh chunky carrots. Thanks for all you do!
Thank you for your comment about the recipe. I am glad you liked the stew! I think it is important in this recipe not to put those veggies in all at once.
How can you make this without an Instant Pot?
Sure, you could cook it on the stove, or even in a slow cooker. I don’t see why not. I am not sure of the cooking times off the top of my head, It’s been years since I cooked a stew in a pot on the stove, I would guess it would take maybe 2 hours, I would put the veggies in during the last 45 minutes or so.